Summer Blocks: Three short weeks, one full unit (how to apply)

Focus intently on one class at a time, in a small group, with a lot of individual attention

Explore a unique subject that might not be offered during the regular academic year, or take a hard-to-get-into course at a time when enrollment is less competitive

Fulfill a Liberal Arts in Practice requirement over the summer

…then Summer Blocks might be for you. The Office of Summer Programs has released the proposed course listings for this summer’s Block courses, Beloit College classes that allow current students to earn a full unit of credit for three weeks of classes, starting just days after Commencement in May. (The courses are also open to non-Beloit students.)

Summer 2013 Beloit Block Courses

Ancient Tragedy Comes Alive! (CLAS 170), with Lisl Walsh

Biomedical Ethics (PHIL 221), with Matt Tedesco

Devising EraseHER! (TDMS 345), with Amy Sarno

Ethnographic Field School (ANTH 352), with Lisa Anderson-Levy and Nancy Krusko

Woodworking (ART 150), with Mark Klassen

Last year’s Block students rode bikes, read, and wrote; studied the nature of evil; and explored creativity via structured chaos. This year’s offerings include a range of classes from across the domains and in a variety of disciplines and levels; some have prerequisites, some do not. You can find complete descriptions of the above courses (including domains and prerequisites) here.

Even if you’re used to the already small, often intimate class setting that Beloit offers, the Summer Block courses kick it up a notch, says Director of Summer Programs Dan Perusich.

“You’re going to get a lot of one-on-one attention,” he says. And put in a lot of work—but, he adds, the payoff is worth it. “It is a heavy workload, there’s no denying that,” he says. “But you’re going to see the benefit when you earn a full unit of credit in three weeks time. You’re going to be in the classroom for four hours a day, but you will have some downtime, too, to enjoy the summer weather.”

And you won’t be giving up your summer break—the courses begin May 16 and wrap up around June 5, so it’s more like a short extension of the spring semester. On the flip side, if a student wanted to do a Summer Block followed by a full, eight-week course of study at the Center for Language Studies, he or she could earn four full units in a summer.

For costs and specifics (housing and meal plans are included in the cost for most Blocks) visit the Registration and Fees page, here. Students living off-campus can also attend.

Ready to sign up? Enrollment is open now, and is ongoing up until mid-April. (Minimum enrollment numbers need to be confirmed five weeks before the courses are slated to start.)

How can you register?

Pick up a drop/add card from the Registrar's Office

Submit green drop/add card to the Office of Summer Programs, located in the upper level of the Writing Center (for Beloit Block courses you do not need your adviser's signature)

Submit $100 nonrefundable deposit to Office of Summer Programs. You will not be enrolled in the course until you pay the deposit. The full deposit is applied to your Beloit Block balance.

There is financial aid available, and Perusich says it’s best to look into that option as quickly as possible. “You want to do that very early, to see what you might be eligible for,” he says.

For questions regarding financial aid for Summer Block courses, contact Director of Financial Aid Jon Urish at urishj@beloit.edu; for questions about how to enroll or about Summer Blocks in general, contact Perusich at perusichd@beloit.edu.